After the firing on Fort Sumter in April 1861, the Union
and Confederate governments quickly recruited armies. Confederates
under Brigadier Generals P.G.T. Beauregard and Joseph E. Johnston assembled
at Manassas, Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley to defend against a Federal
invasion. In July, the Union armies began the invasion that they hoped
would end the war.

Piedmont Station

In the Shenandoah Valley troops under Gen. Patterson
slowly advanced on Johnston while, Gen. McDowell 's 35,000 men
advanced from Washington toward Manassas. Patterson's slow advance
allowed Johnston to reinforce Beauregard by rail. Here at Piedmont
Station, now Delaplane, Johnston's men boarded trains for Manassas.
Johnston's 11,000 men brought Confederate strength at Manassas up to
33,000 men. Johnston outranked Beauregard but gave him control of the
battle since he was more familiar with the terrain.

Matthews Hill

On the morning of July 21st, the two armies faced each
other along Bull Run creek. Beauregard attempted to attack across Bull
Run and turn the Union left flank, but various mix ups sabotaged the plan.
McDowell had a similar plan and sent most of his army across Bull Run
at Sudley Springs Ford to the north to move on the Confederate left flank. Approaching
along the Sudley Road, visible on the right half of the picture, the Federals
were forced to deploy near here and attack Col.
Evans, who had detected the Union move and put his Confederate brigade on Matthews
Hill to delay the Federals. Evans' brigade was reinforced by Bee's
and Bartow's brigades, but they were forced back to Henry House Hill in
confusion. In these early naive times, an easy Union war winning victory
appeared in the offing.

Statue of "Stonewall" Jackson"

Rallying his men, Bee pointed to Thomas J. Jackson and his
recently arrived brigade from the Shenandoah and said, "There stands Jackson
like a stone wall. Rally behind the Virginians." From then on,
Jackson and his brigade would forever be called "Stonewall". Beauregard
and Johnston also helped rally the men and bring up reinforcements, forming a
line behind the crest of the hill.

From Henry House Hill

This is the view looking from near the Henry House, visible
on the left of the picture. On the right of the picture at the foot of the hill
is the Stone House, which would be used as a hospital during the battle. The
hill behind the Stone House is
Buck Hill, beyond which is Matthews Hill, where Evans, Bee, and Bartow had held
off the advancing Yankees in the morning. With increasing pressure,
the Confederates had fallen back in confusion to Henry House Hill, where they
were rallied and reinforced into a line at the distant treeline behind the
modern Jackson statue. Union artillery, however, bombarded
more forward Confederate guns on Henry House Hill from positions on Buck's Hill and Dogan's
Ridge. The Confederates guns fell back to in front of the infantry line,
and Union fire, which followed the retreating rebels also hit the Henry House,
which the 85 year old widow Judith Henry had returned to after vacating the
house earlier in the day. The widow would not survive the battle.

At 2 P.M. the Federals resumed the advance. McDowell
had infantry at the foot of the hill ready to advance, deployed along the
Warrenton Turnpike, which is perpendicular to Sudley Road. He also wanted artillery as part of the
advance. Major Barry, the Union artillery commander, ordered the batteries
of Griffin and Ricketts to advance from Dogan's Ridge to Henry House Hill,
promising them the support of the 14th Brooklyn, a famous pre-war Zouave unit.
The infantry support lagged, and the two artillery batteries came onto the
plateau just 330 yards from Imboden's line of Confederate guns - well ahead of the
main infantry advance, and with their supports lagging. Griffin's
smoothbores unlimbered to the left of Henry House, in an area off the picture to the left,
while Ricketts' rifled guns took position in some low ground to the right of the
house. The cannon shown here represent these guns.

Imboden's Guns

This is the view from Imboden's line of guns. The
infantry of Evans, Bartow, and Bee had joined Jackson and Hampton with
their brigades and had rallied at the treeline on the reverse slope. Later
in the battle, this hilltop would see confused clashes of Union and Confederate
infantry.